It would have been one of the feel-good stories of the NFL offseason, until C.J. Spiller came along.
Nola.com reported that the New Orleans Saints had contact with running back Reggie Bush about a possible return to the Big Easy. Coach Sean Payton reached out to the Saints' No. 2 pick in the 2006 draft after news of his release from the Detroit Lions became public.
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"It was good, shoot we had dinner in L.A. I was out there and we were able to sit down and that was really prior to really the start of it all," Payton said Wednesday at the NFL owners meetings. "It was really just, 'Hey, this would be a good fit.'"
Bush, however, was not the Saints' first choice at providing a complementary role to starting running back Mark Ingram. New Orleans always had its eye on Spiller, the free-agent running back from the Buffalo Bills.
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Payton thought that the Saints weren't going to be able to afford Spiller's asking price, which is why he reached out to Bush.
"And again with a player like (Bush), it's more about do we have a vision of exactly how we'd use him and I think we did," Payton told Nola.com. "But again a few days later, Spiller is taking a visit so it just sorted out in a way that was a little unique. I think we expected Spiller to be somewhere else with a higher number. But it all worked out."
With Spiller taking Bush's job away in New Orleans.
"Spiller's (skillset) is a unique one," Payton said, according to AL.com. I think one of things that helped us sign C.J. was the versatility that we look to have when he's in the game. We'll look at packages to put him out wide, packages where he's in the backfield with another running back. The key with him when you watch him on tape is finding a way to get him the ball in space because he's so explosive."
When the Saints passed, Bush went on to the San Francisco 49ers, who were looking for a replacement for Frank Gore.
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